When discussing modern horror, it's strange to think how Chuck E. Cheese managed to inspire so much terror and pave the way for the Five Nights at Freddy's franchise. However, everything has an origin, and even the most innocuous media can make mechanical mice into monsters. So, before Scott Cawthon's creations headline the Five Nights at Freddy's movie, let's look at how their animatronic antecedents had their own bizarre film, Chuck E. Cheese in the Galaxy 5000.
Established in 1977 by Atari co-founder Nolan Bushnell, Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza Time Theatre introduced the world to Charles Entertainment Cheese III (or, as he's better known, Chuck E. Cheese). Originally imagined as a coyote, then evolving into a cigar-smoking rat and eventually a rock star mouse, "The Big Cheese" helped to launch an entire chain of arcades complete with a pizzeria and animatronic shows. However, now evoking nostalgia for the '80s and '90s, the rad rodent's legacy lives on, if not in his pizzeria franchise, then in the animatronic horror genre he helped inspire through projects such as Willy's Wonderland and the Five Nights at Freddy's series.
What Was Chuck E. Cheese in the Galaxy 5000?
Before Five Nights at Freddy's channeled Chuck E. Cheese for its games, the robotic rodent attempted to find stardom beyond his pizza chain. After the 1983 animated holiday special, The Christmas that Almost Wasn't failed to be a platform for Chuck E. Cheese, an hour-long straight-to-VHS feature released in 1999. Entitled Chuck E. Cheese in the Galaxy 5000, this FUNimation production attempted to expand the world surrounding the franchise's beloved faces, with bizarre and sometimes disturbing results.
The sci-fi musical centered around Munch's Make Believe Band, embarking on a space race reminiscent of Star Wars' podraces to save a friend's family from debt. Blending green screen CGI and live actors, Chuck E. Cheese in the Galaxy 5000 made for a cavalcade of mismatching imagery. Additionally, with subplots that featured concepts like "zoom gas" abuse and a giant cheerleading chicken grappling with fried poultry and her demise at the hand of German twins, this film couldn't be more strange unless it really did originate from an alien planet. While not aiming to emulate the success of Space Jam, Chuck E. Cheese in the Galaxy 5000 was a seemingly low-budget affair with campy acting and chaotic writing, resulting in an unintentionally dark and perplexing viewing experience, especially considering how it faded into obscurity with such a popular franchise attached to it.
How Chuck E. Cheese Set the Stage for FNAF
With its successful video games, books, and an upcoming movie from Blumhouse, Five Nights at Freddy's helped pioneer the genre of killer animatronic horror. It achieved this by tapping into nostalgia and offering a justification for the childhood nightmares associated with characters like Chuck E. Cheese. Even after removing its animatronic stage shows, Chuck E. Cheese's mascots could be unsettling due to memories of their uncanny robotic movements and the inclusion of elements like a giant chain-smoking rat preparing pizza. Additionally, media like Chuck E. Cheese in the Galaxy 5000 did not do justice to its characters, delving into obscurity and unnecessary dark tangents that seemed more appropriate for a more comical Creepypasta. The success of the Five Nights at Freddy's series originated from capitalizing on a twisted kind of nostalgia, morbid campy humor and childhood fears from Chuck E. Cheese that continues to resonate with modern audiences.
Sometimes terror can come from the most unlikely places and iconic horror characters from the strangest concepts. Chuck E. Cheese in the Galaxy 5000 failed to create a multi-movie franchise but helped to create an even stranger legacy. Characters and stories don't always turn out how creators intended them to be. However, it speaks volumes about how people can make monsters out of the mundane and something more entertaining just by seeing something from a different vantage point.
The Five Nights at Freddy's movie creeps into theaters Oct. 27.